We are delighted to present the introduction to Ramzy Baroud’s latest book entitled “These Chains Will be Broken: Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, 2020). The book’s foreword is written by Khalida Jarrar, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a prominent figure of Palestinian resistance who has been detained on multiple occasions by Israeli forces. The book is also graced by an afterword from Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur “on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories” and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. The illustrations in “These Chains Will be Broken” have been made by Dalia Alkayyali.
Regarding this essential text that brings forth the (till now) strategically contained and hidden away world of Palestinian prisoners, Ramona Wadi writes in her review that “What the news reports eliminate, Ramzy Baroud’s new book […] pushes to the fore. Palestinian prisoners, misrepresented through statistics, news reports, exploitation and glorification, tell slivers of their stories in this collection of first-hand narratives that stand as a testimony for both Palestinian resistance and resilience.”
This introduction to the book, presented here by Baroud, is titled “Palestine’s Organic Intellectuals”, and is published online for the first time as a preview to Ramzy’s larger work, courtesy of the publisher, Clarity Press. True to its title, this introduction begins with Antonio Gramsci’s definition of “organic intellectual”, aptly contextualizing the condition and role of Palestinian prisoners in their consistent transgenerational “anti-colonial struggle”, as their stories, narratives and modes of resistance are presented in Baroud’s book for the greater world to acknowledge.